Escaping the Manosphere with Will Adolphy

Will Adolphy followed male influencers to figure out how a real man should look, feel and act. Now he helps men and boys escape the influence of the online manosphere.

Throughout his teens Will Adolphy became increasingly isolated from his family, focussing his time on online gaming. Later he became more deeply drawn into the masculine digital culture that has become known as ‘the manosphere’, becoming so obsessed with one influencer that he hung a painting of him on his wall. But he was also suffering from panic attacks and severe depression. It all came to a head during lockdown when he lost his job and his relationship broke down. He has since retrained as a psychotherapist and now runs workshops to educate men about online harms.

In Ready to Talk with Emma Barnett, the award-winning interviewer speaks to people you will know and people you should know about the experiences that are shaping their lives. If you want to join the conversation you can email the team at readytotalk@bbc.co.uk, or you can send a WhatsApp message or voice note to 08000 556 101.